Musings on a Life in the Theatre, Tablet PC's, Cultural Issues, (oh, and the occasional emu sighting...)

83 posts categorized "Gadgets"

December 03, 2012

Here we go. It's Ink Blot Awards time. A time for fun, and time for some introspection, a time for passing time, and a time for looking back. I've been blogging both here and at GottaBeMobile.com for over eight years now. I began this little annual tradition on the first annivesary of this blog as a way of celebrating a community that no longer exists today. That community was a group of geeks devoted to the early Tablet PCs. Things have changed quite a bit since, but here's what I wrote on that first anniversary as some context.

I created The Life On The Wicked Stage Ink Blot Awards
as a celebration. Yes, it's a celebration of the 1 year anniversary of
this blog. But it is more than that. It is a celebration of a community
that I have come to know and admire. The Tableteers that make up the
Tablet PC Community are an amazing collection of individuals who know
and work with the Tablet PC platform. They are fiercely protective of
it, insatiably curious about advancing it, very intelligent, often
wickedly funny, at one time very forgiving and patient, and in the same
breath, scathingly critical when the need arises. They are also
exceedingly willing to evangelize the platform to anyone who will
listen, and in my humble opinion, have helped keep the spotlight on The
Tablet PC in ways that may, in the long run, prove to be responsible
for keeping the platform thriving.

Like I said, many things have changed since then. The Ink Blot Awards continue to evolve, without or without any hint of intelligent design. Those early Tablet PCs might as well be made of stone given how the technology has advanced. The media that covers Tablets (and other things as well) proves over and over again that the exciting technology we have at our current disposal doesn't mean that the stone age thinking of how we cover things goes away with new technology.

What hasn't changed and what's consistent about Tablets and mobile tech is that they offer a very personal experience. Apple gets this. Microsoft and others are trying to, but they insist on making devices while Apple creates experiences.

My attitude about politics, cultural
happenings, and other things are also changing. I've also
changed how I observe and remark about them. The convenience of Twitter, App.net, Google+ and Facebook take something away from this blog. I used to worry about that. I don't any longer.

I used to find most of what revolves around us as we make our way through this crazy life as entertaining
in a "Human Comedy" sort of way. That has stopped, largely. What used to entertain more frequently just fills me with disdain. I guess that's mostly because those that pull the levers seem to view us all with disdain and they are becoming more transparent about it. I suppose I'm losing my tolerance, but perhaps that's because these days you can't talk about things in a nuanced manner. Whether the subject be politics or the latest gadget, you're either with us or against us, whoever the us is. Why remain tolerant with intolerance? Hating is the in thing these days, though for whatever reason I can't quite figure out. The ins and outs of life begin with the foibles of humans. We can create beauty and magic. We can also screw up just about anything we touch given half a chance. It
used to be we acknowledged that,
celebrated it, and moved on, bettering ourselves in the process. We might still do some of that, but far too often I increasingly feel like we're playing a sucker's game. Granted the game is being rigged by other suckers who just don't realize that's what they are. Rats in a maze can only repeat their paths so often before they pass out and die or get too fat from finding the reward. I often wonder why we get so many chances to make the same mistakes over and over. Maybe we're just too small to see the maze.

All pretense aside, the rules for inclusion on this little list are the same as they have always been. Award winners are subject to my own whims and
fancies. Some are best in class, some are just frivilous, some deserve
the small heaping of scorn these awards might cast their way. Human
nature, no matter the field of endeavor, is ripe with that which needs
celebrating, and that which needs derision cast its way. Good friend and Tableteer, Mark “Sumocat” Sumimoto,
christened these awards with the nickname of ‘The Blotties’ in year
one, and that sorta stuck. So we'll let it keep sticking. And finally,
if you don't like the list, go make your own.

September 17, 2012

So, citizens are occupying some real estate in NYC again. This recurring event that seems to be a good news story happens whenver Apple releases a new iPhone And once again, lines are alrady forming in the Big Apple for the iPhone 5 release this Friday, September 21. Funny, how it seems some professional line sitters are being hired to do this kind of thing. Business is business after all. And speaking of business, today is also the anniversary of Occupy Wall Street. That's not necessarily a good news story. It appears that demonstrators and cops are already out in force. I find it an intriguing if not ironic contrast that both things are happening simultaneously with two distinctly different reactions from the authorities. But then, one is about spending money, and the other is about how others take advantage of money. You figure out which is which.

Shock and outrage! Tea Party activists are angry at the Republicans. If they are surprised at what happened in the lame duck session, I can't wait to see the surprise on their face when they read the Constitution out loud at the opening of the new session of Congress.

The IRS says that Congress waited too late to pass the extension of the Bush Tax Cuts and consequently taxpayers who file with some itemized deductions will have to wait to file because the iRS isn't ready to process the claims.

July 29, 2010

I rarely beg. I often don't even suggest beyond putting things on my Amazon.com Wish List. (See I didn't even link to it.) But, ever since I saw video of the Parrot AR.Drone from CES2010 last year, I knew I wanted one of these lovely little hovering, flying gadgets. Turns out they are available for pre-order exclusively from Brookstone as of now. So, those who are thinking ahead to the holiday, think this.

June 27, 2010

The wrongly named left-handed reception issue on the new Apple iPhone is still creating quite a row. Steve Jobs' responses (as well as Apple's) are threatening to derail Apple's vaunted PR/Marketing machine. The "don't hold it that way" response was a real disaster given all the visuals that showed everyone from jobs to actors "holding it that way." Jobs' keeps insisting that there is no issue, and each time he does so, more evidence mounts against those claims. But his latest missive tells us to "stay tuned." That's interesting advice given that most who experience the problem only want to stay tuned into the network. I happen to agree with the NY Times Bits blog that this probably got overlooked due to Apple's penchant for secrecy. But then again, I'm no engineer. I can duplicate the issue at will when the Bumper is removed from my iPhone in areas where the signal is not that strong. But where I see a strong signal, the issues is not able to be duplicated. Maybe what we'll find out after this is all said and done is that bars on a screen mean diddly squat.

The McChrystal/Rolling Stone affair was one for the books. Both in terms of the actions and reactions, and that it actually exposed just how shaky and incestuous the relationship between the media and those they cover really are. Frank Rich talks about this nicely. Damn shame that we waste so much effort trying to find a way to fix something that isn't fixable and ways to make it seem palatable to those who pay attention. I'm talking about Afghanistan here, but it could be the country's economic woes, the oil spill, or any number of things.

February 20, 2010

I used to do some drum circling at one time in my life. It was fun. It was cool. But I guess if you want to do some drumming without the circling bit with friends you could check out this guy's mechanical approach using a Wiimote to control everything.